» Teeth Maestro's Decidous Links

Teeth Maestro's Decidous Links

Decidous Links are actually mini blog posts, links or articles that should also be read by the readers of this blog.

All links are accompanied by a short personal comment. You may also subscribe to a seperate RSS feed of these Decidous Links from Teeth Maestro HERE

The 20 latest Decidous Links

WSJ: Pakistan’s Next President - Is a Category 5 Disaster → If there’s a case to be made against democracy, few countries make it better than Pakistan. Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and leader of the Pakistan People’s Party. Mr. Zardari, who has compared himself to Jesus (an innocent accused of crimes he did not commit), is easily one of the most notorious figures in the long parade of horribles that make up the country’s political history [ Decidous Link ]

An Open Letter to God, from Michael Moore → Michael Moore writes a very interesting an funny letter to God, putting to task Geroge Bush and the Republican National Convention which has just been delayed due to the Hurrican Gustav - credit Haq’s Musings [ Decidous Link ]

Pakistan: Now or Never? - Does Obama’s choice of Biden spell hope for Pakistan? → With Musharraf gone this week and a fractious but democratically elected civilian government in place in Islamabad, Biden may now get a chance to shape the next administration’s Pakistan policy. The chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee clearly brings the foreign policy expertise which would be needed by a future Obama administration in its relations with Pakistan. [ Decidous Link ]

Exit Musharraf? Pakistan’s president will resign and leave the country → Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is expected to resign Monday and fly into exile in Saudi Arabia, where he is to remain for the next three months, a former aide to the president has told NEWSWEEK on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue [ Decidous Link ]

Peddle-a-Citizen Inc → Babar Sattar writes in The News - “We have captured 689 [members of Al Qaeda] and handed over 369 to the United States. We have earned bounties totaling millions of dollars. Those who habitually accuse us of ‘not doing enough’ in the war on terror should simply ask CIA how much prize money it has paid to the government of Pakistan,” boasts General Musharraf on page 237 of his autobiography [ Decidous Link ]

Conflicting Facts Characterize Siddiqui Terrorism Case → Finding Dulcinea: tries to filter through those conflicting reports to come to some analysis of whats the truth in Dr. Aafia Siddiqui’s case - The government’s accusations against and treatment of suspected al-Qaida operative Dr. Aafia Siddiqui has raised questions and incited outrage on both sides. [ Decidous Link ]

Guide to Facebook Activism | DBTB.org → DigiActive.org published a short paper on Facebook Activism which is truly a must read. It shares the inherent problems with Facebook and offers some interesting solution. Taking examples of a few brilliant mobilizations attempts into perspective eg. Burma Monks Campaign, Free Kareem Campaign in Egypt & also the Free Faoud Campaign in Morroco. For anyone who has been involved in some form of facebook activism this is a short and must read guide on the do’s and dont’s of Facebook activism [ Decidous Link ]

Charlatans of democracy by Fatima Bhutto → Triumphalism over a Musharraf impeachment won’t hide the failings of Pakistan’s ruling coalition — Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari are unelected. They’re not just unrepresentative in that they don’t hold seats in the parliament - they have absolutely no mandate in Pakistan. They head the two largest, and most corrupt, parties in the state but hold no public office. Pots and kettles. [ Decidous Link ]

2(B) or not 2(B)? by Humayun Gauhar → If Musharraf goes Sharif could be the eventual winner, Zardari the big loser. Q will vanish. PML will reunite. With the common binding enemy gone and the PML reunited, Sharif could force early elections. The PML juggernaut will flatten the PPP. Either way, the government will no longer have Musharraf as their excuse for failure. Its writ won’t run anywhere, as it doesn’t now. The economy will collapse for lack of confidence and expertise. The extremists will gain. Eventually, another political failure will force the army to intervene again, whether it likes it or not. We have to keep ’saving’ democracy after all, don’t we? [ Decidous Link ]

DBTB.org | Major Intenet companies decide on the Principles of Free Expression → Don’t Block the Blog: Major technology companies, including Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft, have agreed, in principle, to a voluntary set of principles designed to guide businesses when they encounter laws and practices that may contravene international human rights standards or be at odds with law or culture in their home jurisdiction. Its great news for the world attempting to bring some civic sense of responsibility to the internet. [ Decidous Link ]

Can the Jadoogar do any more tricks for Musharraf? → Fearing possible impeachment, the presidency has once again started consulting its legal aides, including Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada, the constitutional guru with specialty in supporting military dictatorship. Pirzada has also been the architect of almost every PCO promulgated by dictators in the past. Mostly known as Jadoogar of Jeddah (Magician of Jeddah) and attributed with a phrase: “He can play any game with the rules that he makes most of the time.” [ Decidous Link ]